Sunday, April 15, 2018

“Napalm Girl“ with Boy (for Julian) by Frank Joussen - Contest Entry

“Napalm Girl“ with Boy

(for Julian)

-Daad! Daaad! – he cries,
his head pressed against my shoulder,
his body shaking,
his right hand beating my back
without strength but with strong indignation.
-How could the Americans do that? –
We´re standing exactly where
the photographer stood
and his famous photo “Napalm Girl”
becomes three-dimensional -
the skinny, naked, mutilated child
running towards us
and my tears begin to flow
for the crying Vietnamese girl,
for my crying German boy.

We can´t, we needn´t look at
the rest of the exhibition of  terror.
We step outside into relentless sunshine
to walk humbly the peaceful streets of Saigon
to not watch CNN in our western-style hotel.


copyright Frank Joussen

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